Knitting machine



May Z2, 1928.v 1,670,791

E. WILDT ET AL KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 III. 11(1); P' /flgwuv/(M May 22, 1928. 1,670,791

E. WILDT ET AL KNITTING MACHINE May 22, 1928. E WLDT- ETAL 1,670,791

Filed llarch 4, 1927 l 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 59.5 1 E941 y i 1% :z Zz

y n 14g j; 11" 'fl' I] I 1 Il I Y h.. wa 15 RIJ' ,515 \l 55 Zgf y l lmnzovfs: 17 Y QM+4MM Parental May 22, 192,8.

UNITED STAT-Es PATENT oFFicE.

EDWIN WILD'I.' AND HENRY HAROLD HOLMES, OF LEICESIER, ENGLAND,- ASSIGNORS TO WILDT & COMPANY LIMITED, 0F LEICESTER, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY.

IKNITTING MACHINE.

Application nit-ld March 4, i927, serial No. 172,873, and in creat Britain umh s, 192s.

- This invention consists in improvements in or relating to knitting machines and while it has particular application to circular knitting machines it is not limited thereto. Y

The type of machine to which the present invention is applied is that in wliicha pattern-control mechanism comprises selector devices, the operation of which is controlled by pertorations ina patternlor Jacquardcardor equivalent device. In such pattern -Inccha-nisnis a selector generally becomes operative when a perforation, appropriate to that selector, registered with a part of it or a part of another member co-operating with it. u

In our prior British specification No. 237,961 of 1924, accepted August 4, 199.5, we have described one such pattern mechanism in which, for each needle, tliere'is a sliding selector device controlled by a card 'perforation in such a manner that a part of the 'ile'- Vice is moved to diEerent positions in relation'to the needle or needle-jack, according to the nature of the perforation controlling it, and the needle is, byl the aid of the selector device, raised to one or other of two or more different heights. Other pattern mechanisms of this general character are also known in which a selector is actuated with the aid of a perforation in the patternycard so that it either assists in raising the needle to one particular height or else itremains entirely inoperative. In this latter case the selectors only serve to control the movement of the needles to one height.

An object of the invention is to improve such pattern mechanisms so that while they will enable a. selective contiol to be applied to the needle from the pattern card to cause cach needle to make stitches of two ormore.

specification In one form of the invention each selector, for` an individual needle, comprises a part which cooperates with a single lifting cam of fixed height and which comprises an op- .l

erativeconnection between the said cam and the needleor needle-jack, the opera-tive con- .needle or jack; and the interposed end of each slider will be diiferent in its eHective height (measured in the direction of lifting) from that of the other slider or o each of them. By means of the present invention it is possible to control all the selectors 4directl from the pattern card Wit-hout the aid o interposed devices.

In order that the invent-ion may` be more clearly understood, one preferred'example will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan of those portions of`` the knitting machine and patterning mechanism sufficient for the understanding of the invention;

Figure 1l is a detail View;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figurel;

Figures 3, Ltand 5 illustrate respectively the positions to which needles will be raised ,by the several selectors of each set;

Figure 6 shows in elevation a cam employed for raising the selectors; and

Figure 7 is a section on the line 7--7 of Figure 6.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts in all figures of the drawings.

For the complete cylinder of needles ther will be a plurality of groups or selectors, one.

group of which is shown in Figure 1; and for each group there will be a separate pattern card or its equivalent which, in the present instance, is in the form of an endless band of paper or other flexible material. The pattern card 10 passesover and 'is carals ried by .a roller 11 which latter is formed with longitudinal grooves 12 adapted to register with each row of perforations such as 13 in the pattern card when that particular row of perforations is in operative relation to the selectors.

Carried above the pattern cord 10 and the roller 11 is a plurality of selectors 14 which are movable endWise towards and away from the needle cylinder 15. The selectors, as shown clearly in Figures 1 and 2 are formed of strip material and are mounted at their outer ends by means of slots 16 through which is threaded a rod 17 mounted in end bearings 18 of a frame 19 which is secured t0 the base of the knitting machine. 'There Will be one frame such as 19 for each group of selectors. Mounted in each selector is a pin 20 which is slidable `endwise in a. direction radiall of the roller 11 and is normally pressed towards the roller by means of a light spring 21. At their inner ends, that is to say, the ends that are adjacent the needle cylinder, the selectors enter the needle tricks as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In the particular example illustrated there is a set comprising three selectors for each needle and the ends of the selectors of each set all extend into the appropriate needle trick.

Thus it Will be seen that endwise move ment of the individual selectors-is produced when the pin 2O of the selector passes through a perforation such as .13 in the pat` tern card and int-o a groove 12 in the roller 11. The rotation of the roller, after the pin has entered the groove, will be sufficient to enable the trailingwall of the groove to push forward those selectors Whose pins have entered the groove. The roller 11 is rotated intermittently and is so'timed that the movement of the selectors takes place immediately before the lifting cam, to be described more fully hereinafter, engages the selectors and lifts them. The selectors may be guided in their movement by means of combs whichv may be mounted on the frame 19 if desired, butv no such combs are illustrated lin the accompanying drawings, as it is thought unnecessary to describe such parts in detail. They may be employed wherever it is found convenient or necessary to guide the selectors.

The lselectors of each set are so formed at.

`and the lifting cam 23. In Figure-4 the extremity of the selector 141, which is the second selec-tor of the set, has its ends so formedy as to interpose a greater depth between the needle jack 22 and the cam 23 than has the selector 140. vSimilarly the end of the selector 142 in Figure 5 has a greater depth than either of the selectors 140 141 to be interposed between the needle jack and the cam.

The cam 23 is shown in Figure 1 as having passed beyond all the selectors of the group illustrated in that figure. It will be seen that each selector is formed on its under side with an undercut groove 24 which, when the selector has been pushed forwardly towards the needle cylinder under the action .of the pattern card and pattern roller, will is no longer required.- Normally each se' lector is returned bymeans of a. tensionl spring 25 (Figures 1 and2) each spring 25 being anchored at oneend to the selector and at the other end to a rod 26 mounted in the frame 19. If it were not for the engagement of the cam 23 in the groove 24 the spring '25 would, as soon as the selector had `been raisedsufiiciently by the cam to free its pin 2O from the perforation of the pattern card, draw the selector outvfrom beneath the needle jack. This is prevented, however, so

long as the cam is engaged in the groove 24 and by this means the positive and unfailing action of the selector is assured.

In Figure l2 one of the selectors 14, which is that corresponding withv the selector 140 in Figure 3, is shown in full lines in its nor-l mal position of rest before it is moved forwardly by the pattern card and pattern roller. In chain lines it is shown as having b een pushed forward into its operative position to be engaged by the cam 23 and to raise the needle jack. All those selectors which are notl pushed forward by the pattern roller will, as can be seen from Figure 2. be raised by the cam 23'without moving the needle jack as their inner ends are normally clear of the jack and will not'engage 1t. Thus, those selectors which are not pushed forward by the roller Will be raised idly each time the cam 23 passes beneath them and only those-that have been pushed forylvlard will s rve to raise their appropriate nee es.

Selectors such as 140 may, for instance, be

of such dimensions that they serve to raise the needles to a tucking height. Selectorsv such as 141 can serve to raise the needles to aV full knitting or clearing height and selectors 142 can serve to raise the needles to a. greater height still so that they will take in a high splicing or plating thread.

It will be appreciated that the cam 23 is of bfixed height and the variation in the height to which be obtained by means of the dierent depths of the selector ends which are interposed between the needle jacks`22 and the cam'23.

In the-example illustrated in Figure 1 the pins 2O are shown as being so disposed as to lie in the middle planes of the selectors. If preferred, andin order to increase the distance between adjacent holes in the pattern card, the pins 20 may be arranged in the selectors 14 as shown in Figure 1, in which the pin of the vmiddle one ofthe three selectors in each set'is positioned in the mid: dle plane ofthe selector While those pins 20 in the selectors at each side-of the middle one will be disposed so that their axes are ofset from the middle planes of these selectors to the sides thereof which are remote from the middle selector." By this means the spacing of the holes in the pattern card will be farther apart in the direction of the axial length of the roller 11, and thus the strengh of the card will be increased,

It will be understoodthat the foregoing description has been given as one example onlyr oi' the invention' and it will be appreciated that with t-he necessar modifications in detail the invention ycan lie applied not only to circular knitting machines but also ,Furthermore although in the particular example described the needle cylinder is intended to be Stationary and the cam box is intended to revolve round the axis of the cylinder while the frames 19 are held stationary, it is with- `in the invention to employ a stationary cam box and a revolving needle cylinder. In this case the/frames 19"`and*'the*parts carried b 'them will be rotated in company ed inthe frame 19.

- .to-enter slots 36 formed with t e needle cylinder.

In the case of a stationary needle cylinder machine as illustrated the drive for the roller 11 can be conveniently that shown in Figures land 2 wherein a bevelled pinion 30 meshes with a ring or gear teeth 31 formed on a part .that rotates with the cam box. The pinion 30 is fast on aQSpindlc 32 at the other end of which is a skew-tooth gear-member 33 engaging with a, complementary gear 34 which is rotatably mount- Projecting from the gear member 34 is` a pin A radially of member 37 which is iixed to and rotates with the spindle 38 of 4 the roller 11. The 'ratio o'f the gearing is so chosen that for each revelution of the cam box the roller 11 will be racked round an angular distance corref sponding to that between two adjacentvslots 2. i Although in the particular example described each set comprises three selectors appropriated to each needle the lnvention 1s the needles are raised will `q 35 which is adapted having a di not limited to this particular number as there may be less or more according to reuirements.

We claim 1. For a knitting machine having a plurality of needles, pattern mechanism com prising in combination a `plurality of scle'ctor devices allocated to and operatively connected with each needle, the selectors for one needle being other than those for each of the other needles. and pattern control means capable of independently actuating each selector device and serving to select which of said devices are to be actuated,

the plurality of' selector devices for each needle being such that needle movements having different characteristicsare produced respectively by each selector device in that plurality.

2. For a knitting machine having a plurality of needles, ciated with each needle and-comprising in the selector device for one needled being other than those for each of the other needles, pattern control means for 'independently operating each selector device and forl selecting which of said devices is to be operated, and needle actuating means operating in conjunction=with the selector devices to move the needle, the needle actuating means and the plurality of selector devices being such that needle movements having different characteristics are produced respectively by each selector device in that plurality thereof.

3. For a knitting machine having a plurality of needles, pattern mechanism comprising in combination a needle lifting cam, aplurality of vselector devices associate with each needle, the selector devices for one needle being other than .those of eachof the other needles. each otsaid selector devices having a distance part that can inter osed between said lifting cam and the need e and operating in conjunction with the lifting ca m to move the needle and pattern control'm'eans for independently 'operating eachselector device and for selecting which ofl said devices is to be operated, said distance part of one selector evice lbeing different in form from the distance part of another selector device of the plurality1 thereof whereby different needle movements are produced respectively by each selector device in that plurality thereof.

4. For a knitting machine having a plurality of needles, pattern mechanism comprising in combination a needle lifting cam, a set of selector devices associated with each needle. said selector devices beingmounted for sliding adjustment towards and away from the, needle and each selector` device nce part that can be interposed between the said llifting cam'and pattern mechanism asso the co-operation between.

the needle `combination a plurality of selector devices,

Utl

dv m5 by adjust-ment ofthe selector device and opcrates in conjunction with the lifting cam to move the needle and pattern control means for "independently adjusting each selector device and for selecting which of said derality of needles, .pattern mechanism comprismg 1n combmatlon a needle lifting cam,

a set of selector devices associated With each needle, said selector devices being' mounted for sliding adjustment towards andl away -from the needle and each selector device having a distance part that can be interposed between the said lifting cam and the needle by adjustment of the selector( device.

and operates in conjunction with the lifting cam to move the needle, resiliently controlled sliding pins carried by' said selector devices and pattern control means having a movable perforated member. into the perforations of which the sliding pins can enga e for the independent ad'ustment of'the se ector devices by themovab e erforated member, the said distance parts o the several selector devices of the set thereof being different from one another in form whereby' different -needle movements `are produced respectively by each selector device of a set/thereof 6. For a knitting machine having-aa plurality' of needles, pattern mechanismcomprising in combination a needle liftin cam,

`a'set of 'selector devices associated wit each needle4 said selector devices being mounted for sliding ad'ustment towards and 4away v `lfrom the nee le and' veach selector device vfor independently adjusting each selector having a groove which is entered by the lifting cam and -a distance part'that can be interposed between the said lifting cam and the needle by adjustment of the selector ldevice and operates 'in conjunction with the lifting cam to move the needle and pattern control means comprising a pattern cardv directly operative upon the selector devices device, the said dist-ance parts of the several selector devices of the set thereof being different from one another in form whereby different needle movements are produced respectively by cach selector deviccof a. set thereof. v

7. For a knitting machine having a plurality of needles, pattern mechanism comprising in combination a needle lifting cam, a set of selector devices, associated with each needle, said selector 4devi-ces each comprising a slider of strip material mounted 'for lengthwisesliding adjustment towards and away from the needle and each slider having at one end, a groove which is entered by the lifting cam' and a distance paitfthat can be interposed between said lifting lcam and the needle, said distance parts of' the-several sliders in the set of selector devices being of' different form one from'another so that different lieedle movements are produced respectively by the sliders of a set thereof, a. resiliently controlled pin carried by the other end of eachslider and pattern control means having a movable perforated member into 'f5l the perforations of which the said 4 ins can engage for independently adjusting the sliders. In testimony 'whereof we have signed our names to this specification. i EDWIN WILDT.

HENRY HAROLD HOLMES.` 

